EXILE
by Anocari
Summary: In this story, Donny and his wife, Anocari get "exiled" from their home for something terrible they did. They move away in hopes of a new life, but soon Anocari's enemies find them. There is only time to tell if they will make it out alive...
1. Chapter 1

"Leave, the both of you. I wish to never see either of you here again."  
>Anocari clung to me and cried as Master Splinter pointed his finger at the door to the lair, which was opened already. His face was more serious than when he got a vision from his father, Hamato Yoshi, and his eyes looked straight into mine. Leo, Raph, and Mikey stood behind him, unable to even glance at either of us.<br>"Go! Leave this home now!"  
>A loud sob escaped Anocari's mouth as I picked her up because she was paralyzed from shock and confusion. I turned my back to my family and walked slowly out of the door as the tears I had been holding back finally spilled from the corners of my eyes. We were banned from our own home, hated by my brothers and father. The rest of the girls had no clue about the events that had taken place in the past 24 hours, therefore they did not know about our exile.<br>The door shut with a loud thud as I walked away with Anocari in my arms, not daring to look back. I chose the first manhole I could find and placed Anocari on my back to proceed up the tiny ladder. This was it, we were leaving for good, forced to start over a whole new life. My home for 25 years wasn't my home anymore.  
>Anocari tightened her grip around my neck as I snuck us through dark alleyways, trying to spot her spaceship, ". . .W-what are we going to do, Donny?. . . We can't go back to Orithion. . . I-I'll be killed. . ."<br>I was quiet for a moment. She was right, we practically had no where to go. The girls would eventually find out about what we had done and they would only push us away as well, ". . .I don't know, love . . . I really don't know. . ."  
>Finally, I spotted the building her ship was stationed on and I quickly maneuvered my way across the street and up the building.<br>She stared into my eyes as I set her down in front of the ship as pain coursed through her veins like blood, ". . . This wasn't our fault. . . How could they treat us like this. . .? We had no control! Why wouldn't they listen!"  
>I hushed her and wrapped my arms tightly around her as she began to cry once more. I didn't know what I was supposed to say. I couldn't say that everything was going to be okay because it wasn't. I knew that everything from here was going to hurt us for a long time. After all, we had no money, no place to live, no anything. All we had was what we could fit in Anocari's suitcase and my duffel bag. That, and we had each other. . .<br>I lifted her head to mine and kissed her softly on the lips. In return, she wouldn't let me pull away. She kept her lips locked to mine for as long as she possibly could, letting her sorrow flow into me.  
>When we finally parted she kept her face close to mine, her nose touching the top of my mouth. I felt her cool breath on my face as she whispered delicately, ". . . Let's go far away from here. . . somewhere where no one will know us. . . somewhere we can start a new life. . ." she paused, "Anywhere other than here. . ."<br>I sighed silently as I walked her over to the passenger door to place her in her seat. I held her hand as she stared at me with pure fear in her eyes, ". . .Okay, love. . .we'll leave this place. . . forever."  
>I closed the door and walked over to the other side of the ship and climbed in next to her. As I started the engine I thought to myself once more, "What's going to happen to us?"<br>I turned my head to look at her as she shifted in her seat to face me, "Donny?" she whispered quietly.  
>"Yes, love?"<br>"I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

I smiled for once in the past 48 hours at the face of my sleeping wife, Anocari. She was so peaceful as she slept that I almost did not want to wake her. What had happened to us was unfair and we didn't deserve to be treated like this, but the least we could do was visit the kids one last time before forever leaving this place we had once called our home.  
>I brushed my hand over her delicate cheek so not to disturb her too much, "Anocari, love. . . It's time to wake up. . ."<br>She blinked to open her eyes and I smiled when I saw that all of her tears were finally gone. Even in her sleep she had been crying, and I wondered if she knew.  
>She smiled lightly at me as I stared into her eyes, but she was silent as I helped her up from he seat. Her smile was erased from her face as she looked out the door at April and Casey's farmhouse, ". . . Why are we here. . .?"<br>I hugged her close to me and stroked her hair, "I thought. . . you would want to see the kids one last time. . ."  
>Her eyes were full of pain as I explained why I had brought us here, but at the same time she was relieved that she was able to see her children once more. We both knew that it would have been wrong to leave them like that, without a word, without a trace. We loved our children far too much to do that to them, even when she had told me many times before we had them that she wanted nothing to do with children.<br>I hooked my arm on to hers and walked us up to the door of the farmhouse. Hesitantly, I knocked.  
>"Anocari? Don? What a surprise to see you here." April smiled warmly at us as she opened the door. I guessed that she hadn't gotten the news of our banishment yet, but it still felt good to have her welcome us in like we were still family.<br>Anocari grasped April in a hug as we walked into the living room area, ". . . Oh, April. . . you have no idea how glad I am to see you. . ."  
>April's face turned to confusion as she hugged her back and looked to me for an explanation.<br>I sighed as we all sat down on the couch together, "Something terrible has happened to us, April. . . you will find out soon enough, but, for now, we just want to say goodbye. . ."  
>April's face turned to concern and fret in an instant, "Guys, what's going on?"<br>Anocari took her hand and looked April in the eyes, ". . .Tomorrow, I can guarantee that you will hate us. . . Someone is bound to tell you, and you will regret ever feeling sympathy for us. . . So, I have to tell you one thing. Fight for us. We are the only ones who know what really happened. We are being hated for something that wasn't our fault. . . and so we have to leave. . ."  
>April stood and looked at both of us with a mix of feelings in her eyes, ". . .No, what's going on. . .? You can't leave. . . Don, what about your brothers? What's going to happen to them if you leave?"<br>I shook my head, "Like Anocari has told you, we are being hated, but by our own family. . ."  
>We all turned to a sudden, small voice, "Mommy? Daddy? You're leaving?"<br>Anocari and I both stood as Leo, our oldest son, stood on the staircase leading up to the bedroom with confusion in his eyes. He walked slowly down the rest of the stairs, rubbing his tired eyes. It was late, and we had probably woken him up by our frantic whispers. He was much like his mother, having the ears of a cat, but many other qualities showed in him as well. He was kindhearted and was uneasy in the face of danger as well, but when it came to standing up for what he believed in there was no stopping him. He may have been our oldest, and one of the best sons I could ask for, but he was only the equivalent of a fairly small eleven or twelve year old. Most would think that a boy would start to outgrow his dependency on his parents at about that age, but Leo loved us too much to even think of letting us go so soon.  
>He looked up at Anocari with fear in his eyes, "Momma? Why are you and Daddy leaving?"<br>Again, we looked up as three more pairs of feet came walking down the stairs. Robbie, our second son, was leading the twins, Yuki, our only girl, and Darren, our youngest son, down the stairs, "Mommy and Daddy are leaving. . .? You just got here, though. . .?"  
>All four of our children ran up to us and hugged us tightly, scared and confused. Anocari began to cry again as they kept asking why we were going to leave and where.<br>That's when I noticed something. I was scared. She was scared. We were both scared. This wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. I realized that walking out on your family, even if they hate you, is harder than it all seems.  
>We set all the children down on the couch and stood in front of them. I was the first to speak, given the fact that Anocari was still crying, "Leo, Robbie, Yuki, Darren. . . I want all of you to be very good for aunt April. . . she is going to be taking care of you for a very long time. . ."<br>Leo stood, not wanting to hear this, "No! You can't leave us here Daddy! Why do you have to go?"  
>I knelt down next to my son, remembering the day he was born. I remembered how frantic I was and how calm Anocari seemed. It was like he was meant to be born into this world, like she knew there was a reason this was all happening, "Leo. . . I want you to take care of your brothers and sister for me, okay? I want you to help aunt April as much as you can. You're a strong boy, Leo, and I expect you to show that, alright?"<br>Tears formed in Leo's eyes as jumped forward to hug me tightly. He was silent for a moment as he took in my request and his voice was shaky with fear as he did speak, ". . . O-ok daddy. . . I promise. . ."  
>Anocari scooped him up into her arms and hugged him tightly before kissing him on the cheek and placing him on the couch next to his brothers and sister. We both said our farewells to each of them and hugged April one last time outside of the door.<br>April looked us both in the eyes as she let tears stream down her pale cheeks, "Please, be careful. . ."  
>I nodded as Anocari clung tightly to my arm, "Thank you, April. . . You have no idea how special those words are to us right now. . . If only you would think the same thing in the morning. . ."<br>We turned and headed back to the ship, ready to take our journey into a whole new life. A life where we could be happy and not hated by our family.


	3. Chapter 3

ANOCARI:

TWO YEARS LATER:  
>I stood in the kitchen of our house with my hands placed firmly on my hips. Nodding to myself, I smiled and looked at Donny with loving eyes, "Well, it took a while, but two years later we finally moved in all the way."<br>He smiled kindly and walked over to place his arms around me, "Yes, and you did a wonderful job of decorating, love. Not to mention helping me with the painting."  
>We both took a moment to look around at the cool turquoise walls of the kitchen, "I always have liked this color." I said hugging him tightly and kissing the corner of his mouth.<br>Donny and I had moved around from planet to planet, searching for the right place for us, for a whole year. We had our reasons for being so picky, though. We wanted no one to follow us or be able to find us, no matter how far we had to go. So we did "planet hopping" for as long as we could stand it, until we found a quaint little home in the city of Hirgentou on the planet Bourielyu. It was located nearly forty galaxies away from earth, which was far enough for the both of us. This way, there was no chance of any enemies following us or. . . any forgotten family members. . .  
>We had both had a harsh time the first two months, trying to forget everything that had happened and the way we were blamed for it. It was like a deathly sickness that kept coming back. Things would remind us of our family and we would move again, simple as that. We made sure there was no way we could be reminded so easily of the hurt they inflicted upon us. There was no way we would ever go through it again.<br>Although we were a young couple, frightened by our own journey to find peace, Donny and I still had our laughs at all the strange and new alien species we saw along the way; some more frightening then others, that was for sure. So, after those first months passed by, we began to enjoy ourselves and tried harder to find a place to settle down in. We also met some new friends along the way that helped us find our way to where we were now. This place was supposed to be "nature heaven" as some described it. The summers were never too hot and the winters were never too cold. Leaves would always be a wonderful, rich color in the fall; never an ugly brown, crunchy color. Spring would be dazzling, with flowers sprouting up in every place imaginable, but not to a crazy extent. Everything was absolutely perfect, and it was exactly what we wanted. We were tired of things going wrong and having to fret of losing our lives every day of the year, so we eagerly found this place and agreed to settle down.  
>Donny and I walked through the swinging door of the kitchen and into the family room where the dining table, couch, and T.V were. He walked over to turn on the TV and we both sat down to cuddle with each other. After all, we deserved some rest after all the hard work we had put into our house.<br>When the screen came into focus, the news was on. After watching the weather for a few moments, a reporter came on the screen with breaking news, "After months of watching carefully and studying, the government has finally proven this "invisible" object in the atmosphere to be some kind of unknown aircraft of this galaxy. One of our science observers has actually seen what this craft looks like at a rare glance. It was only for a moment, but a glimpse was all he needed to further his studies on this concern to the planet. It has many of our officials worried, but they say for everyone to remain calm about the situation until we find out if it is dangerous at all. They are hoping to send people out to approach it, come the right time, but for now they will just have to keep looking up."  
>It seemed that Donny and I had been reading each others minds because we both turned to look at each other at the same exact time. The same concern that was in my eyes seemed to be reflected into his. I knew something wasn't right, but why did it have to happen now, just when we were finally starting to be happy?<br>"Donny. I hope you are thinking the same thing as I am right now. . ."  
>He nodded, "If you're thinking that we have a lot of trouble on our hands right now, then, yes, I am thinking exactly what you are thinking. . ."<br>I sighed and took a deep breath, ". . . Okay, what are the chances? I mean, really? How could they have possibly followed us? Why would they still come after me after all this time?" I put my hands over his and kissed him lightly, "Like the reporter said, let's just stay calm until we know who it really is. I want to be happy."  
>His expression loosened as I stared lovingly into his hazel eyes and he leaned in to kiss me back, "You're right, we are worrying too much about this. We should be forgetting about all of this, not trying to make it happen again."<br>I smiled a wide smile, "That's the Donny I know. . ."  
>Suddenly, he gave me a smirk and pulled himself on top of me, kissing me with a great excitement. I smiled as he kissed me, relieved that we were able to live on without any distractions of our old life, that was then, at least.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

ANOCARI:

SEVEN YEARS LATER:  
>I huddled close to Donny, clinging on to his arm, as explosions rumbled and shook the ground above and below us. Everything was going wrong. Remember the aircraft that we had thought to be nothing? Remember how we thought it was just going to pass by like the nuisance it was? Well, we were wrong. It didn't pass, and it never went away. It stayed there, watching, waiting to make the right move at the right time. Who, you ask, was this person in the craft? Or should I say, who were <em>these<em> _people_. These people, were the one, and only, Organization.  
>For six years, they did nothing but sit there, waiting, and with each year Donny and I became more and more concerned. Donny began to watch the skies carefully with telescopes he would build, hoping that it wasn't what we thought it was. There was no chancing it, though. We had to be careful. That first day was the only day we had reassurance that it was nothing to worry about. From then on, everything was wrong. The next morning I had woken up with a wrenching feeling in my gut that wouldn't go away. We both knew exactly what that meant. Something was wrong, very wrong.<br>For a whole year, they moved oh so slowly toward the planet. It was so slow that they just got here, 30 hours ago. So, here we sit now, scared for our lives, hoping, praying, that they don't know where we are.  
>I flinched and buried my face in Donny's chest as another bomb exploded above the street. We were in the basement of our own home and we weren't sure how long we were going to be able to hide. They were masterminds, after all.<br>I felt Donny's hand tighten around mine and felt his stress flow through me like blood. Something was wrong.  
>I looked up at his face to see a mix of fear and concern in his eyes, "Donny, what is it. . .?"<br>He took a deep breath before speaking, "Someone is in here. . ."  
>My expression turned to pure fear as he spoke those four words I was afraid of the most, ". . .They found us?"<br>He nodded slowly, but suddenly sat straight up, "We have to go, now."  
>He helped me up on to my feet and pulled me quickly across the dark basement to the small window that was barely big enough for me to fit through, "Donny? This window is only big enough for me. . ."<br>He held my hands tightly after opening the window, staring intensely into my eyes, not saying a word. That look was all I needed to understand. He was going to stay behind.  
>"No! You can't! I won't let you!"<br>He hushed me and hugged me tightly, still not saying a word.  
>Tears started to pour out of my eyes as I shook my head fiercely, "No! No! No! You can't!"<br>He delicately cupped my face in his hands as I continued to sob, trying to quiet me, ". . . You know that I don't want to do this, but if it means saving you . . then it's all I have to do. . ."  
>Suddenly, his lips were against mine, and he kissed me with a passion I had never felt before. I could feel everything he was feeling in that one moment and it was like nothing I had ever felt form him before. For once in my life, I couldn't describe what he was feeling.<br>He suddenly broke away from me and picked me up , thrusting me through the window of the basement before I could even think of blinking.  
>I sat, blank-minded, in the thick grass of our backyard. For a moment, I saw his face through the small window, but it disappeared just as fast as he had thrown me into the yard.<br>I was in shock for a whole minute before I started sobbing again. I stood myself up as tears dripped down my cheeks and into the grass. I tried walking, but I wobbled and fell back into the grass, "DONNY! DONNY! NO!" I screamed his name in horror, not wanting to believe that he had left me.  
>Everything was spinning around me as the heat of the flames licked at my face. How could he have left me alone? Why did he have to give himself up to save me? Why. . .? Questions raced through my head as I stood myself up again, but this time I didn't fall. I wobbled through the yard, still crying, and my throat was aching from the smoke I had inhaled.<br>Suddenly, my head shot up as I heard a sickening scream echo through the streets, but it wasn't just any scream. . . I froze in my steps as my eyes hit the street where the scream had come from. There, lying, still and cold, on the pavement, was Donny. He was dead.


	5. Chapter 5

ANOCARI:

"DONNY!"  
>I screamed his name in horror, not believing the sight in front of me. I ran across the rest of the yard to where his body lay, still, on the crumbled street.<br>"DONNY! NO! PLEASE! SPEAK TO ME! TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY!"  
>I placed my hands on his shoulders and began to sob uncontrollably as tears fell off of my cheeks and on to his face, "DONNY!"<br>I gasped as I saw his face pinch and twitch ever so slightly, and his eyes opened to where they were just a crack. His voice was rough and hoarse as he spoke to me in a way I had never heard before, ". . . A-Anocar-ri. . . m-my l-lov-ve. . . i-is th-that y-you-u. . .?  
>I smiled with fear on my face and I bent down close to his weary face, "Yes, Donny. . . It's me, love, I'm here. . ."<br>He smiled wearily at my voice and slowly brought a hand up to my face. Quickly, I put my hands over his and held it to my cheek, ". . . I-I just w-want y-you to kn-know. . . I have a-always l-loved y-you. . ."  
>I shook my head as I realized what he was saying, "No, no. . .please don't think like that. . . you will make it Donny! I will never let you die! Not now, not ever!"<br>His face pinched again and his hand tightened around mine, ". . . A-Anocari. . . This i-is something. . . s-something you can't f-fix. . . E-everyone h-has a t-time to go. . . m-mine is now. . . I-I was meant t-to save y-you, don't you s-see?"  
>I put my free hand on his face and let my tears drop down on to his cheeks, "No. . . you can't go! What about us! What about being happy!"<br>A single tear formed in the corner of his eye as he smiled delicately at me and stared into my eyes for a long moment, ". . . T-that's just i-it. . . I'm already h-happy. . . because y-you are the p-person I get t-to see before I-I die. . ."  
>With that his eyes closed and his heavy breathing stopped, his hand fell from my grasp and landed firmly on his chest, and his whole body stopped completely.<br>This time, he was really dead.  
>"DONNY! NO! PLEASE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP AND SHOW ME YOU'RE ALIVE! PLEASE! PLEASE! DONNY! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP, YOU HAVE TO!"<br>I placed my hands on his face and leaned down to whisper in his ear, even though I knew he couldn't hear me, "You have to wake up. . . so we can go home. . ."


	6. Chapter 6

LEO (The Son):

I sat quietly on the rooftop my mother used to take me to as a child. She would hold my hand, never daring to let it go, for she was afraid I would somehow slip and fall. Many times I had been told that I was lucky to be alive, saying how my mother never cared to bear children when she was younger. I was said to be the first of the best accidents that had ever happened to her, but now, I doubted that statement.  
>If I was to be one of the best accidents that had ever happened to her, then why did she leave me? Both my father and mother left me at the age of eleven, not telling where they were going and why. At that age, I simply assumed they would be back for me in a couple of weeks, but I was wrong. My two brothers, sister, and I have been left alone for a total of nine years now, and still counting.<br>Now, I am at my stages of life that my father was once in when he had left with my mother. I appear to be fifteen, but I am almost 20 now. It's a gift, I guess you could say. I am plagued forever by my appearance, seeing my father every time I look in the mirror. My aunts and uncles tell me every day how much I look like him, but they always include another fact. They tell me every day that I must aim to be a better man than he was, but I don't even know what he had done to make them hate him so much.  
>All my life I have wondered what exactly he had done to make them see him as a monster, but every time I would ask they would just brush me away or ignore me. To me it seemed that all hope of seeing my parents again was lost, until one day, that changed.<br>I sighed and stood up, walking slowly back the way I had been taught to get back to the lair. Many times I had just wanted to run away and leave this place that plagued my happiness, but I couldn't just leave my brothers and sister like that. Yuki was too vulnerable at this age, being about sixteen, just like her twin brother, Darren. Robbie could take care of himself if he wanted, but he was too much of a people person to be left alone. So, I made my way back to the lair, doubtful that anything new would happen today.  
>The lair seemed so empty now that everyone had left. Since my father left, the family just hasn't been the same. Just a few years ago, one by one, they started to leave. First, it was my aunt Avolla and uncle Leo, the one that I was named after. They moved to aunt Avolla's home planet Utraianian where they became King and Queen. I haven't seen them since. Next it was my aunt Kirsten and uncle Raph. They moved out to California just two months after Avolla and Leo left. Finally, my aunt Zeema and uncle Mikey left. They left for aunt Zeema's home planet Gurgletron96 in a matter of weeks just after Raph and Kirsten had left. The only two that were left were April and Casey Jones, the forever family friends, and of course one of my mothers old friends checks up on us from time to time. Her name is Vanessa, and if you ask me, she can seem kind of crazy sometimes. She has this special power to tell when things are going to happen and where. She can see the future and sense when something is wrong. But, believe it or not, she has been the biggest help to this family ever since the incident that I still don't know about.<br>I smiled at the sight of my sleeping siblings as I walked into the family room. Yuki and Darren had fallen asleep on the couch again and Robbie was passed out in the chair next to his desk. Every time I saw him like that my heart ached, remembering when my father used to do the same. My mother would then come wake him up and get him to bed, telling him that it's not healthy to sleep in such a position.  
>Sighing, I woke him up and told him to go to bed. He groaned and sleepily walked into what used to be uncle Leo's room.<br>Next, I woke the twins up and almost had to drag them to their rooms. They were usually stuck like glue every second of the day, so when it came the tome to get them into their separate rooms, it was always a pain.  
>When they were all finally asleep and in their beds, I sighed and plopped down on the couch. It may have been almost two in the morning, but I could never sleep anyway, not with everything that was going on in my mind.<br>Suddenly, ever so slightly, I felt a feeling in my gut. I knew this feeling, and it was telling me that someone was coming. Slowly, I stood up from the couch and turned the TV off. If I was going to catch this person I needed to be able to hear everything. I tiptoed quickly over to Robbie's desk and picked up the BO staff that was leaning against it. It was going to be my only form of protection, saying that it was the only weapon I had proper training in before my father left.  
>I tightened my grip on the staff as I walked quietly over to the door of the lair, feeling the intruder get closer with each breath I took. I was scared. Nothing like this had ever happened to me while I was alone with my brothers and sister before, and I was afraid I would not be able to protect them.<br>I steadied my breathing as I felt the presence right in front of the door, hesitating. Suddenly, the door slowly began to open, but I stayed hidden next to the wall, hoping to surprise whoever it was.  
>With the first step I heard them take, I jumped out and tried to attack, but surprisingly enough, my staff was blocked and torn out of my hands in an instant. I looked up, wondering who this person could be, and almost fell to my knees crying when I saw her.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

LEO (The Son):

I froze in my stance as I stared at her stern face, ". . .Mom. . .?"  
>Her face loosened as she took a step forward in the dark doorway, ". . .Leo. . .?"<br>I flipped on the light switch to see my mothers loving face for the first time in nine years. She looked so weary, so burdened by stress, "Mom! You came back!" I leaned forward to grasp her in a hug.  
>She tightened her arms around me and began to cry, "My, son, my little Leo. . ."<br>We parted as she wiped away the tears running down her cheeks, "All these years. . . I missed you all so much. . . and now. . ."  
>She stared off into the distance for a moment, but soon fell to her knees crying once more. I quickly helped her back up and walked her over to the couch, "It's alright mom, you're home now. . ."<br>She shook her head as she sat down on the couch and cupped her hands together. She seemed so different, yet exactly the same in many ways. I was surprised that I wasn't effected as much as I would have thought by her crying because it was the first time I had ever seen her cry. My father once told me about the first time he saw her cry, and it seemed like the world would end at that moment, but something told me that her crying had lost its special effect since then.  
>I hugged her once more, but this time it seemed like she never wanted to let go. I wondered if there was another reason she had come back. Maybe it wasn't just because she missed her real home. Something had to have happened.<br>I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Mom, are you alright. . .?"  
>She sighed and looked to her hands, just like she always did when she was hiding something from my father. Then, it hit me, where was my father?<br>"Mom. . .?. . ." I hesitated, ". . .Where's dad. . .?"  
>She kept her head down, not wanting to look at my face.<br>"Mom. . .?  
>She sat there, silent as I had ever seen her before, or at least from what I could remember. The thing about my mom was that she always had something to say, no matter what the situation, unless something truly terrible had happened.<br>Slowly, she lifted her head to look me in the face as tears started streaming out of her eyes again. A couple times, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out but stutters and small sobs.  
>I took her hands, "Mom. . .? What happened. . .? Is dad okay. . .?"<br>She started to shake her head slightly, still hesitating to tell me what was going on.  
>"Mom, tell me, did something happen to dad. . .?"<br>She gripped my hands tighter than she ever had at that moment, and finally spoke, ". . . Y-your father. . . . . H-he's. . . . YOUR FATHER IS DEAD!"  
>I drew back in shock, my eyes wide with panic. I wasn't sure if this was actually happening. I didn't want to believe that she had come back now, I wished that it was all just a dream.<br>I shook my head as she sobbed, "No. . .no, he can't be. . ."  
>Suddenly, she flung herself on me and grasped me in a tight hug, ". . .Oh, Leo. . . My son. . . My lovely son. . . . ." Her voice was shaky and hoarse, ". . .I-I couldn't believe it myself either. . . I-I still don't. . ."<br>All I could do was stare, blankly, without a thought going through my mind, as she hugged me. This was not what I had imagined to happen when my mother would finally returned to me. . . no, not at all. We were supposed to be a family again. . . not a family torn apart once again.  
>Suddenly, without realizing it, I began to cry, silently and without a sound, but, somehow, my mother sensed it in an instant. She pulled back to look at my face and place her hands on my cheeks. All she did was sit there, staring at me.<br>Suddenly, I pulled away from her and stood, "No, I don't believe you. . . He can't be dead. . . No, I wont believe it!"  
>I ran toward the door, but stopped, hesitating for only a moment as she called my name in sorrow. I opened the door walked out, not once looking back on my mother.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

DONATELLO:

TWO DAYS EARLIER:  
>One thought lingered in my mind as my heart felt still as stone. Anocari. I felt cold and hard inside, thinking that I was dead, but somehow, I clung to one last piece of life. Though I did have life to hang on to, there was nothing I could do but lie there. Noises around me were fuzzed out, but there was something I was sure I was hearing. It was the sound of Anocari's sweet voice, drumming in my ears. I couldn't tell if she was screaming or just talking, but, either way, I was just happy to still hear her voice.<br>For hours I felt the same still coldness. Not once did I know what the people around me were doing. I could feel nothing but the feeling inside of me. My body was, in fact, dead, but my soul was still very alive. I wanted to sit up and kiss my wife, tell her that I was alright, but I could not. Soon enough I learned that she was screaming, not talking. She was crying my name over and over again, sitting next to me at every moment.  
>Even the doctors thought me to be dead, but kept me in the hospital for further study. I felt like one of my own specimens, being held against my own will so someone could prod at me. They said that they had never seen something like this before. They knew that there could be a chance for me, but Anocari thought otherwise. Eventually, she left me, alone in my cold stillness of death. I wasn't sure what was going to happen to me, but I prayed that I would be able to find her once I woke up.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

DONATELLO:

PRESENT DAY:  
>They released me from the hospital, wheeling me out in a wheelchair, like they do for everyone, even though they knew I could walk. For two and a half days, I was trapped in my "death coma", alone, with no one to help me out of it. The doctors kept telling me that I was a rare case, and only a person with the out most greatest will to live could ever pull through this. It made me wonder, though. After Anocari had left, I had thought that all hope was lost, so one would think that I would have died, but I didn't. So, I guessed that my will to live came from my yearning to be with my wife again, even though she thought I was dead.<br>I knew that I wasn't too late, though, she couldn't have gone far since then. I knew that there was no chance she ever could have moved on either. But. . . I was stuck here. There was no way for me to get off of this planet without a ship, and there was no way I could get one without money.  
>All of the action was over by now. The Organization realized that she had left, and went off to plan another attack, like they always do. So, knowing it was now safe, I went to the house, but only to find it half destroyed, just like all the other houses on the block. I was slightly lucky, though. Some houses were charred to the ground in black chunks of ash and debris. Our house simply had fire burns and chunks of house blown off the left side.<br>I rushed up to the bedroom, hoping that what I was looking for was still there. To my surprise, it was. In the top drawer of the wooden dresser we kept in our room, was the emergency money box. Over the years we had saved all of out loose change and dollar bills in there, and every once in a while we would save whole twenties. I knew there had to be at least a thousand dollars in there.  
>I pulled the heavy plastic container out and started to count the money. Everything ended adding up to a total of $1,547.92. It wasn't much for what I needed, but it was enough to make it at least halfway there.<br>As I started to walk out of the room, I stopped, catching something out of the corner of my eye. Over by the bed, on the little side table Anocari had placed there, was a black wooden framed photo. It was the photo we had taken just after we moved into the house. I remembered how excited we were and how long it took to find the house. We were still very young back when that happened, even though we both haven't changed much physically since then. I picked it up and sat on the bed for a moment, just staring at the photo in my hands. The glass was cracked in the front, so I decided to take it out of the frame to get a better look at it.  
>When I popped the back open to take the picture out, surprisingly, another picture slipped out and fell to the floor face down. Quickly, and curiously, I bent down to pick it up. I turned it over, and gasped at what I saw. There, in the picture, was the whole family. When I saw whole, I mean whole. It was that family photo we had taken back in New York, just a couple months before disaster struck. It filled my heart with sorrow to see everyone with us like we were family again. We were so clueless back then as to what was going to happen to us, so unprepared that it's scary.<br>I smiled when I saw my children, all gathered around me and their mother. The twins were still quite small then, and Robbie and Leo were just short of their teen years. I thought for a moment what they would look like today. Surely, Robbie and Leo would look a heck of a lot like me, and Yuki and Darren would look so much like their mother. I missed them so much at that moment that it finally hit me. If Anocari was to go anywhere, it would be Earth. I knew at that moment that she hated being so far away from everyone that she loved, even if they didn't love her back. She probably wished every day that we would have stood up for our side of the story instead of running away like we did. I admitted it to myself then that we, in fact, ran away like cowards, we ran away because we were afraid of being hated.  
>I stuffed the picture in my belt and scooped up the money from the emergency box. I would go to the bank and empty out our entire savings account next. I hoped that What was in there would be enough to pay for a ride to Earth. I needed to get there as soon as I could, even if it took more than a day at higher than light speed. I didn't care, I wanted to show my wife that I was alive.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

ANOCARI:

Everything was the same. His bed, his desk, his lamp, his piled papers, his messy reminder board. Everything was where it was the day we had left. I plopped down on the bed, trying not to let any more tears out. I hated crying more than ever now. It used to be so rare for me, but now it was like an every day thing.  
>I hugged his pillow tightly, smelling that one special smell that he always had. I didn't care if others thought it wasn't a good smell, but I loved it more than any other smell in this universe. It was the smell of flowers an chlorine. It may have been a silly judgment of smell, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I first smelled his scent, actually paying attention to it.<br>I thought to myself as I lied on his bed. My son hated me because he thought I was lying to him about his father being dead. Go figure that another person would hate me.  
>I closed my eyes and tried to wash all of the memories of my family hating me out of my head. I needed to get some sleep, saying that I hadn't slept in nearly two days. Finally I drifted off to sleep hoping that things would get better, even if the love of my life was gone forever.<p>

I barely remembered where I was when I woke up. I was so used to living somewhere other than New York, that I scared myself for being there. I thought for a moment that everything had just been an awful dream, but when I saw that Donny wasn't lying next to me, whispering for me to wake up, I knew that it had all happened.  
>Slowly, I got up and walked to the door, glancing at the clock as I put my hand on the knob. It read 12:08. I was surprised that I had woken up before two, saying that I had lost a whole day and a half of sleep, but I could run on low energy, so I was fine with it.<br>Opening the door, I walked out on to the balcony that overhung the family room. Looking down, I gasped, seeing Robbie, who looked every bit like his father. I guessed that my gasp was louder than I had thought because he immediately looked up to see me standing over him.  
>At once, he dropped the plate that was in his hand, and ran up the stairs, ". . .MOM!"<br>He embraced me in a tight hug, making me stand on my toes as I hugged him back, "Robbie! My boy!"  
>He set me down with great enthusiasm on his face, "Mom! You're back! You're home! I-I can't believe it!"<br>I smiled, looking at my sons face. I placed a hand on his cheek, "You look so much like your father. . ."  
>He smirked and my heart ached. Everything he did was exactly like his father in every way.<br>He saw my face fall and gave me a concerned expression, "Hey mom, where exactly is dad?"  
>I stood for a moment, wishing that I had never told him that he looked like his father, bringing up this conversation once again, ". . . I was hoping you wouldn't ask. . .but. . . I guess I have no choice than to tell you. . ."<br>His face was stern and confused, the exact expression Donny would give me when I was hiding something from him, "Mom. . .what happened. . .?"  
>I took a deep breath as my lip began to tremble, but I held back the tears, ". . . Robbie. . . Your father. . . he. . ."<br>He kept staring at me with his stern eyes, waiting for my answer, "He what. . .?"  
>". . . He. . . he gave himself up to save me, Robbie. . If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here right now. . ."<br>Robbie squeezed his eyes shut and put a fist up to his mouth, trying to hide his trembling lip. He turned to the rail on the balcony placing his hands on it, his eyes still shut. I could see the pain on his face as I tried to imagine what he was thinking.  
>Suddenly, he turned to face me and opened his eyes, which now had tears in them. He quickly grasped me in another hug and continued to cry on my shoulder, ". . .No, this isn't fair! Why does he have to be gone! Why now!"<br>I held my crying son in my arms, remembering when he was just a child. I remembered cradling him when he had a nightmare, hushing and comforting him when he hurt himself. I remembered everything.  
>He continued to cry as he spoke again, ". . .How can he be gone. . .just like that?. . . How can you be so calm about it. . .?"<br>My eyebrows creased together as I thought about myself screaming over his body in the street, screaming his name in the hospital, and continuously telling him to wake up even though I knew he couldn't, ". . . I wasn't always. . ."  
>His hug finally broke and he drew back to look at my pain struck face, "What do you mean. . .?"<br>I hesitated, ". . . Robbie, I watched your father die right before my eyes. . . I knelt by him as he stuttered his last words, trying to tell him that everything was going to be okay. . . I was not calm. . . I was terrified. . . I was dying with him. . ."  
>This time I was the one to hug him, embracing him tightly.<br>We stood there for a whole minute, crying, a mother and son mourning, over a lost husband and father.  
>" . . . Mom. . . I'm so sorry. . . I-I. . ."<br>" . . . It's alright, Robbie, it's alright. . . It's okay to cry. .just let it out. . .just let it out. . ."


	11. Chapter 11

DONATELLO:

I quickly paid the cab driver after he added up the total cost of the journey. It ended up being all but a couple dollars of my money, but I didn't care at all. All that mattered was that I was back in New York. I could now find Anocari.  
>I didn't realize how far away we had actually been from Earth until I took my journey back. Before, we had skipped around so many times that it was impossible to even pay attention to how far we had gone, but now, I realized that we had been nearly 52 galaxies away. It seemed almost impossible to be that far away from a place you thought you would live forever, but we were.<br>The cab driver sped off, greedily counting the bills in his hands, as I turned to look at the city below me. Nothing had changed, but it wasn't like I was expecting it to. The only thing that had probably changed was my family. Who knew where they were now. . .  
>Suddenly, I smiled, actually happy to be back in this black hole of a city. It may have been one of the most dangerous places to live, but it was my one, true home, and I couldn't give it up again for the world. No, I decided then that I would never make the mistake of leaving ever again. When I found Anocari, we would stay there with the kids, raising them like we should have nine years ago, even if they were almost fully grown and ready to start a family of their own.<br>I ran swiftly across the rooftops, remembering the good times I shared with my brothers, even before I met Anocari or any of the other girls. I remembered how immature we all used to be; how care-free our lives were. We thought that we could conquer the world if we wanted to, just by showing our faces.  
>My face fell as I realized how much we had left behind. It seemed like we all matured because we thought we had to. It seemed like we settled down and had kids because we thought were supposed to do that when we were mature. If we would have stayed the same fun people we were before, we could have done so much more. Most of this probably would have never happened to us, and we would all be laughing about some stupid joke Mikey told right now at this very moment.<br>I stopped as more thoughts clouded my attention to the buildings ahead of me. I looked out into the crowded night streets to look upon the one, and only, Times Square. All the lights and majesty captured me, just like it used to. I remembered the first time I ever saw Times Square. I was maybe about ten or so, but all I knew was that it was a very long time ago. I remember how brilliant it all seemed to me, like I could never walk away. I remembered sneaking away to sit and look at the neon lights and moving signs all night, hoping Master Splinter would never come to collect me. Many times I thought of traveling to far away places, seeking adventure to quench my thirst for this beauty I laid my eyes upon.  
>I sighed, breaking my gaze upon the busy city. I continued to run, this time, faster. I needed to get home, desperately. I wanted to go to my brothers and father to tell them the truth. I wanted them to know it wasn't our fault. I wanted to go home, and there was nothing that was going to stop me.<p>

I took a deep breath as I stood in front of the door to the lair, where my family waited, hopefully. This was my chance, I could end the hate and suffering now. I put my hand up to the keypad and typed in the code. As the door opened, my heart skipped a beat, and I stepped in.  
>Everything was silent. No one to be seen, nothing to be heard. I looked around, confused, "Hello? Is anyone here?"<br>Silence.  
>I guessed that since it was so late, everyone had gone to bed already. I mean, it had to be somewhere around three or four in the morning. I walked quickly up the stairs and to my door, hoping to get some rest. I chuckled to myself as I realized how surprised they would be in the morning to find me here. I knew exactly how Mikey would react. He would make up some crazy story about how I was a clone and that some alien army is trying to spy on us so they can attack and that they had already gotten to me.<br>I shook my head, smiling. Mikey was always quite the character.  
>I turned the knob slowly and creaked the door open with barely a sound, but as soon as I looked in, a body in my bed sat up. Anocari.<br>". . .Robbie? Is that you. . .?"  
>I smiled, knowing now that my son did look a lot like me. Anocari would never mistake me for someone other than my own son.<br>". . .Robbie?"  
>I opened the rest of the door slowly and took a step inside, "You always did have trouble seeing in the dark. . ."<br>I flipped on the light switch and let the light shine on both of us.  
>Before she said anything, she ran. She ran straight into my arms, nearly knocking me to the ground, "DONNY!"<br>As she clung to me she began to cry sobs of happiness. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, smelling her soft hair and feeling her small body in my arms. After what I had gone through, this was the best moment in the world for me. I was with my wife again, and that was all that mattered.  
>"DONNY! . . . I-I. . . HOW ARE YOU. . .HOW ARE YOU ALIVE!" she half screamed half sobbed as she pulled back to stare into my eyes.<br>". . .I don't know, love, but it was a miracle. . ."  
>Suddenly, her lips were against mine, kissing me passionately. To feel her lips against mine again was all I wanted at that moment, nothing else. I held her to me as she wrapped her arms securely around my neck. Everything was perfect now, I wouldn't have changed a thing.<br>Our kiss broke as we heard the door creak, "Dad. . .? DAD!"  
>My son, Robbie, came bursting in the room smiling bigger than I had ever seen a person smile before, "DAD! I-I thought you were dead! We thought you were dead!"<br>I embraced my son in a hug and pulled back to look at him, "You've grown so much it's unbelievable! Look at you!" I smiled widely, "Your mother was right, you did turn out just like me."  
>He smirked, still reminding me of myself, "Yeah, and I got the brains too."<br>I was about to comment back when we all turned to see two shocked faces in the doorway. It was the twins, Yuki and Darren, their blue eyes wide, both looking so much like their mother, yet like me in a way as they were turtles.  
>"Dad!" they both shouted in unison.<br>"Mom said you were dead!" Yuki shouted as she ran to hug me tightly, " I thought I was never going to see you again!"  
>Darren smiled with tears in his eyes, like his sister, and walked up to hug me along with Yuki, who refused to let go, ". . . It's so good to know that I have a father to depend on now. . . I've missed you so much, dad . . . we all have. . ."<br>They both pulled away and I ruffled Darren's charcoal black hair, " . . . I'm glad that I have children to raise again. . ."  
>Anocari walked up to me and clung to my arm, "We missed you all more than you think. . . It was devastating to be away from our own children for nine whole years, even if we knew that if we came back we would just be shunned."<br>I looked to the floor and back up to all of them, "We realized what a terrible mistake we had made, leaving you all to grow without parents. . . and for that, we are eternally sorry. . . will you forgive us?"  
>There was silent for a moment as they looked among themselves. Finally, they all smiled.<br>Robbie placed a hand on my shoulder, "Of course, dad. . ."  
>All of them nodded in agreement.<br>I smiled as they all came in to a big group hug. When we parted, I got a confused look on my face, the look I get when I know something is missing, ". . .Hey, where is Leo. . .?"


	12. Chapter 12

LEO (The Son):

I sat on the edge of the rooftop that I was on, wondering how long I was going to protest against my mother. I didn't want to believe her, I never would. I knew that he had to be alive, I could feel it. I looked into the sky to see some kind of craft moving through the air. Quickly, without realizing it, I stood. I knew that craft, it looked so familiar.  
>I ran quickly to stay caught up with it, hoping that it was going where I thought. For the most part, it was heading right where I wanted it to; towards the lair. It was heading towards the lake just above the lair, where, if it was one of my family members, it would land and sink down into the lair.<br>I stood in the grass, smiling to myself as it lowered itself into the lake. It was Aunt Avolla and uncle Leo's ship.  
>I was about to run towards the lair when I heard a voice call my name from behind, "Leo? Is that you?"<br>I spun around quickly to defend myself, just in case it was a trap, but as soon as my eyes laid upon the person in front of me, I gasped, frozen in my steps, ". . . D-dad. . .?"  
>He smiled warmly at me, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder, "I was wondering where you were. I was hoping I'd be able to see my first son as soon as I got home, you know, saying how everyone thought I was dead."<br>I smiled and hugged my father tightly, brimming with happiness inside, "Dad! I can't believe it! You're home!" I pulled back to look at him, "I knew I was right to believe you weren't dead. . ."  
>"Yeah, your mother probably told you that, didn't she?"<br>I nodded.  
>He sighed, "She had every right to say that I was, though. . . Even the doctors thought I was dead. . ."<br>There was a moment of silence before he began to speak again, "I'm really not sure what happened, but I went into some kind of 'death coma'. It's sort of like the body seems like its dead, but inside, the soul is very much alive."  
>I nodded again, slightly confused by what he was telling me.<br>He sighed once more and looked to the ground for a long moment before looking back up to me with the out most seriousness on his face, "Let's just say. . . your mother witnessed me 'die' with her own eyes. She saw me as I took my last breaths of air before I went into my state. . . She heard me tell her that I believed I was going to die at that moment. . ."  
>All I could do was stand there, stunned at what my mother had witnessed. He was right, she did have every right to say that he was dead.<br>Suddenly, I grasped my father in a firm hug, tears pushing at the corners of my eyes. I hated crying, and it was rare for me, just like my mother, ". . .I'm just glad that you're home now. . . we can be a family again. . ." I pulled back to look at him, "Well, for the most part anyway. . ."  
>He put a hand on the back of his head, "Yeah. . . Robbie told me how everyone just seemed to disappear one after the other."<br>I smiled suddenly, "Well, did you see the ship that just landed in the lake?"  
>He nodded, "Yeah, it looked so familiar to me. I've been gone so long that I can't even recognize who's ship is who's."<br>I brimmed, "That was Avolla and Leo's ship. They haven't been home for almost four years, which means-"  
>"They know that we're here." He said, smiling.<br>"C'mon, dad. You haven't seen your brother in nine years. I think it's time to finally say hello again."  
>He smirked, "I think you're right. They wouldn't come back if they didn't want to see us, well, that's unless Avolla forced Leo to come back. I never got to see what her reaction to the whole thing was, so she could have defended us all along and I wouldn't have known."<br>I smiled, "She didn't believe it."  
>I saw his eyes widen and face brighten, "Really?"<br>I nodded, "Yeah, for a while she was mad at the guys for thinking you and mom would do such a thing, whatever it was. Soon enough she just kept quiet about it. Everything pretty much went back to normal after the first year or so. It was really hard without you and mom, though. . . I can't count how many sleepless nights there have been for all of us. . ."  
>There was a short silence as I thought for a moment.<br>"I think, all-in-all, everyone actually started to miss you and mom, especially Zeema and Avolla. They missed mom so much that they cried almost every day for a month. I could just tell by Leo, Raph, and Mikey's faces that they were ashamed of what they had done to you. They missed you, we all did. . ."  
>The look on his face had me stumped. I had no idea what he was thinking or what he was going to say next at all. It was kind of a mix between surprise, sorrow, happiness, gratefulness, and relief.<br>He smiled suddenly, standing straight and turning towards the lair, "Come on, son, I need to tell my brother that I missed him too."


	13. Chapter 13

LEONARDO:

I was silent as Avolla lowered the ship down into the lair. The other night, Avolla had seen a vision of my long lost brother, Donatello, and his wife, Anocari. It was a vision that they would be home together again, on this very night. I was nervous, of course, knowing that I had once hated my brother and Anocari. I was afraid that he wouldn't want to speak to me because of what I had thought of him.  
>Avolla turned to look at me as the ship finally came to a halt, "You gonna` be okay. . .?" she asked me in a soft voice.<br>I nodded and looked at her. I could tell she was deeply concerned for me, probably knowing exactly what I was thinking Don would do when he saw me, ". . .Yeah, I'll be fine."  
>We got out and walked over to the center of the lair, wondering where everyone was.<br>I looked to Avolla, "Are you sure it was tonight?"  
>She nodded, "Positive."<br>"Uncle Leo! Aunt Avolla!" we both turned to see our nephew, Robbie, walking towards us with a big smile on his face. He had grown a lot. I guessed that he was almost eighteen now.  
>I smiled and gave him a short hug, "Hey there kid, you got big." I paused, looking him over once more, ". . .You also look just like your father."<br>I expected his face to drop as soon as I mentioned Don, but instead, he stayed as bright as ever, "Yeah, I know, my mom thinks so too."  
>I saw Avolla freeze for a moment as soon as Anocari was mentioned.<br>Robbie smirked, "What? No one told you?" he turned to the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, "HEY MOM! LOOK WHO'S HERE!" he shouted loudly.  
>I heard Avolla scream with joy as she darted towards the stairs. There, peeking out of Don's room, was Anocari.<br>"ANOCARI! YOU'RE HOME! YOU CAME BACK!"  
>I smiled, walking up the stairs as Anocari and Avolla hugged and laughed loudly, ". . .Hey, long time no see." I said in a somewhat nervous voice. I wasn't sure if Don was around, and I didn't know what she thought of me either.<br>She smiled with relief that I welcomed her back home, "Hey, Leo. . ."  
>I gave my sister-in-law a short hug and pulled back to look at her, "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"<br>She grinned, "I guess you could say that."  
>Avolla walked over and hugged her again, "I'm just so happy that I got to see you again. . . I would have died if I never saw you again. . . I missed you sis. . ."<br>"I missed you too sis. . ."  
>"Hey, Leo. . . It's been a while, hasn't it. . .?" I spun around quickly to the familiar voice that I kept waiting for. It was Don, standing right behind me on the last step of the stairs.<br>I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. Suddenly, there was a small smile on my face, and I quickly walked over to hug my brother for the first time in nine years, ". . . . . . . Welcome home. . . ."  
>There was great relief on his face when we pulled back from each other, "It's more than great to see my brother no longer hates me. . ."<br>Everyone was silent for a moment, "Don. . .I. . .I'm so sorry. . . I. . ."  
>He put a hand on my shoulder, "All I needed to hear were those three words. It's alright, I forgive you."<br>Anocari walked over and grabbed Don's hand, "So. . . you know that everything was out of our control now, right?"  
>I nodded, "Yes, of course. Avolla here made sure of it."<br>Avolla smiled and walked over to grab on to my arm, "Yes, but you were a tough one to break, that's for sure."  
>We all laughed for a moment before I spoke again, "So, why did you come back, I mean, after all these years?"<br>It was silent as Anocari and Don looked at each other for a moment.  
>Anocari sighed, "It's a long story, that's for sure. . . but it's also a sad one at that. . ."<br>She looked to the ground for a moment as Don squeezed her hand and put an arm around her.  
>Avolla got a concerned look on her face, ". . .What happened? Is everything going to be okay. . ?"<br>Anocari spoke again, "Oh, yes, of course. It's just the story of how we ended up here that's so tragic. . ."  
>Don and Anocari were silent for a long moment. The look on both of their faces meant that something terrible had happened, or at least almost happened.<br>"So, what exactly happened?" I asked suddenly.  
>"Well," Anocari began, "It was about three days ago when everything went terribly wrong. We found out that the organization had planted a ship right outside of the planet's atmosphere so that it was just sitting there, observing everything that we did."<br>Don nodded, "We were worried for years about it, it was kind of like our obsession. You see, at first, we had no idea who it was or what they wanted, and we merely thought that it was nothing to worry about, so we didn't worry about it."  
>"Which ended up in complete disaster. As soon as we did start worrying about it, it was too late. We should have seen it coming earlier, but we were foolish and just ignored it. So, three days ago, we were attacked. . ." Anocari looked to Don, not wanting to finish the story herself.<br>Don looked to the ground and then back up, "We were trapped in the basement of our own home. There was only one way we could get out safely, and that way was through a tiny window near the ceiling. It was a window only big enough for Anocari to get through. . ."  
>It was quiet for a moment before Anocari spoke again, ". . .So, with that, he forced me to let him stay behind. . . Not even five minutes later, I found him lying on the pavement in front of the house. . ."<br>Avolla gasped and squeezed my hand. I knew where this story was going, and I didn't like it.  
>"I'm not exactly sure what happened," Don began, "but it hurt, whatever it was. It was almost like my body was dead, but my soul was very much alive."<br>"He was taken to the hospital, where even the doctors weren't sure what to think. . . Some proclaimed him dead, others thought he still had a chance. . . Soon enough, I couldn't take it anymore, and I left, back to here. . ."  
>"Two days later, I woke up, even though on the inside I was already awake. I wouldn't stand letting Anocari think I was dead any longer, so I came home as fast as I could, knowing this would surely be the first place she would go. So, here we are now, telling you the story of how we got here."<br>Avolla let go of my hand and ran up to them, squeezing them both in a tight hug. Both she and Anocari had tears in their eyes as they hugged, ". . . Thank you. . . for coming home. . ."


	14. Chapter 14

RAPHAEL:

"I just don't get why we have ta` go back! I mean, afta` all these years! We just ain't got no reason to."  
>I folded my arms as Kirsten closed the door to her side of the car, "Oh, stop whining! You will find out sooner or later why we are going back."<br>I grumbled, "Who needs New York? No one eva` wants ta` do anythin` anymore anyways. They're all jus` whining about everythin` that's goin` wrong around there."  
>Kirsten turned to give me an icy glare, "If Avolla says we need to come back, then we need to come back. She told me not to tell you why so I won't! That's that!"<br>I huffed and slumped down into my seat, "Fine, we'll go back, but if it ends up bein nothin` to get excited about, then I'm leavin`, with, or without you."  
>"Humph, you're quite the good husband, now aren't you?" Kirsten turned to start the car and put her hands firmly on the wheel.<br>I sighed, "Okay, I'm sorry, but you know it's tha` truth. Before we left it was nothin` but gloom and doom around there."  
>She rolled her eyes, "Just shut your mouth and let me drive us to the airport."<p>

. . .

I didn't want to say it out loud, but I actually kinda missed the old place. Rememberin all the good times us bros had there. . It just made me think a little. Hah, I definitely missed slappin` Mikey's head every time he said somethin` stupid.  
>There was another thing I didn't want to admit either. I didn't like going to New York and seeing that one of my bros is missing. I missed that genius named Don. Ever since we found out what he was sayin` was actually the truth, we felt really bad, no, more than really bad. It's like we all just started hating ourselves. I think maybe that's why we all decided to leave in the first place.<br>Kirsten smiled happily as we approached the door of the lair, "You're in for a big surprise, trust me."  
>I rolled my eyes, "Joyful. Jus` lemme open the door."<br>She pouted, "Come on, Raph, why are you always so glum every time I even mention your brothers and the lair. I thought you would be somewhat happy to go home and see them for once. It's been, what, three or four years?"  
>I was quiet, not wanting to answer her, as I pushed the numbers on the keypad. I was surprised to actually remember them, saying how Don was the one who usually punched them in. . .<br>Avolla and Leo greeted us as we walked in the door.  
>"Good to see you again, bro. How have you been?" Leo asked, greeting me first.<br>"Ah, good for the most part. I was a little confused when Kirsten told me we were comin` back all of a sudden."  
>Kirsten snorted, "You were a little more than confused, Raph, try pigheaded."<br>Avolla and Leo laughed for a moment.  
>"That would be a good word to describe him." Avolla said, still chuckling.<br>I folded my arms and scowled, "Yeah, whateva. Anyways, whats the big thing that brought us back here?"  
>Avolla, Leo, and Kirsten all smiled at each other for a moment.<br>Avolla turned to face the stairs and cupped her hands around her mouth to yell, "Hey guys! Come see who finally made it!"  
>I unfolded my arms and made a confused noise as Kirsten giggled and linked her arm with mine.<br>My mouth dropped open when I saw who was coming out of Don's room. It was, well, Don and Anocari.  
>Before I could even say anything, we all turned to a sudden voice, "DONNY! ANOCARI!"<br>Mikey and Zeema came running in past us and up the stairs, mostly because Mikey was dragging Zeema behind him.  
>I ran up the stairs as Mikey and Zeema nearly hugged them to death.<br>"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO ALL THESE YEARS!" Zeema shouted  
>Anocari laughed, trying to get them off of her and Don, "I missed you too!"<br>I walked up to Don as they finally escaped Mikey and Zeema's hug of death, ". . . Hey bro."  
>He smiled that nerdy smile he always had, "Hey Raph. Long time no see, huh."<br>Before I knew it I was hugging him, even though I wasn't one to hug. I put my hands on my sides as I pulled back, "So, where you been all these years? It was kinda like you just dropped off the face of the Earth."  
>Anocari giggled, "Well, we kind of did."<br>Kirsten laughed, "Come on, stop messing around. We really want to know where you were!"  
>Don and Anocari looked at each other for a moment.<br>"Well," Anocari began, "We kinda promised each other that we would never tell anyone where we were."  
>We all looked at Don. He shrugged, "Hey, the truth is the truth. What we said is done, plus, I don't think we are ever going back there again. . ."<br>Mikey hugged Anocari, "Yay! I have my video game/ belching buddy back!"  
>Zeema pouted, "Hey, I thought I was your video game buddy. . .?"<br>I walked over and slapped Mikey on the back of the head, "Way ta` go, you made your own wife feel worthless."  
>He rubbed the back of his head as everyone laughed, "Heeeeeeeeeyy! That Hurt!"<br>I couldn't help but laugh with them. Everything was turning out to be okay this time. My brother and sister were back home and so was everyone else. The only people we were missing were Casey and April, who were off on a second honeymoon, those crazy kids. I think it was safe to say that everyone had a new plan for what was going to happen next. We were going to be a family again, and everyone was going to stay home. I knew I was, even though this old scum bag of a home was too small for every one of us and our kids to fit. It was still our home.

END  
>(KEEP SCROLLING!)<p>

(JK ITS NOT OVER YET!)

CHAPTER 14 CONT.: LEO (The Son)

"WAIT! OK! Will someone please tell me what exactly happened?"  
>Everyone turned to look at me as I walked in the room with Robbie and the twins behind me.<br>My father walked up to me with a confused look on his face, "What are you talking about, Leo?"  
>I gave him a look, "What exactly did you and mom do to make everyone hate you back then?"<br>There was silence as I stood with my brothers and sister, all of us eager to know what happened.  
>My mother and father looked at each other for a moment as their faces dropped.<br>My mother sighed and led us all over to the couch, "Well, you see, your father and I...we were being controlled. . ."  
>My father nodded and took my mother's hand, "The Organization was working with Shredder again, and they were able to get to, not just your mother, but also me this time. They used our minds to help them create weapons to defeat our own family with."<br>I looked to my mother as she spoke again, "Yes, and one day... one day we got 'caught' by your uncles. They became suspicious and followed us out one day."  
>There was a moment of silence as the looked at each other with pain in their eyes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So many times my mother's eternal enemies, the members of the Organization, have tried to ruin our family's life, but this time they had gone too far. I was furious and wanted revenge, but there was nothing for me to do. They were too strong for me and had even almost killed my own father. . .<br>My father looked to the ground and back up to all of us, "They found us in Shredder's tower, building weaponry and teaching them the pathways of the sewer. Luckily enough, they caught us before they could learn too much about how we find our ways through the sewers of New York, and they destroyed almost every piece of weaponry in the room."  
>"But then again. . . they thought we had given in to evil. So. . . they banished us, sending us into exile."<br>Suddenly, my arms were around my parents in a tight hug. It felt like all of the pain I had endured from practically growing up alone was spilling out of me at that moment. I was finally starting to let go of all my sorrow.  
>I opened my eyes to see everyone joining in on the hug, and I smiled. I was right. My mother and father had come back, and now, we were a family again. Nothing could have been greater at that moment than realizing that.<br>END.


End file.
